> At 10:02 PM 11/10/00 -0600, Sharon wrote: > >Who wrote the History of Morris County quoted at > >http://www.rootsweb.com/~njmorris/randolph.htm > >and who do the brackets belong to? > > > >Is this book considered reliable? > > > >Thank you, > >Sharon Noelle's response gave you the source cites for the books in question. Whether or not they are "reliable" depends on some other factors. Remember that a book is only a collection of information that was taken from someplace else. The info in the book is ONLY as reliable as the sources from which it compiled. If there are no references cited in the book, then the book is not a reliable source. If they are cited, you have to go to THOSE sources and interpret them. If your interpretation matches that in the.book, then the author probably copied it correctly. If you and the author disagree, then you must find a way to resolve it. Information gathered years ago might have been proven incorrect in later years. Because an author (let's say Munsell just for an example) lists a family ancestry line that was written 100 years ago, does not mean that it is accurate. Munsell only wrote what was there - he didn't verify every fact in the book. If you want to be specific, there IS such a case in the History of the Randolph Twp (MOTT family - the "Baltimore origin" is waaaay off) that has since been proven incorrect. I'm sure Munsell also has similar cases. Should you use these as sources? Of course you can and they might be the only source you have for a while. Just be sure to look at the references from which it was compiled. Good luck --- Rich in nH